Sheet metal nut



Nov. 12, 1946. EGGERT- 2,410,968

SHEET METAL NUT Filed Jan. 15, 1945 Patented Nov. 12, 1946 UNITED STATESHEET METAL NUT Ronald Edgar Eggert, Burbank, Calif., assignor to AdelPrecision Products Corp., a corporationof California Application January15, 1945, SerialNo. 572,898

3 Claims.

This invention relates to stamped sheet metal vnuts of the type formingthe subject matter of my pending application for patent, Serial No.553,640, filed September 11, 1944, which has become Patent No.2,379,892, patented July 10, 1945.

It has been the practice as exemplified in my application aboveidentified to strike out from a sheet metal body portion a pair oflaterally juxtaposed generally rectangular bridge portions which havearcuate or similar opposed side edge portions helically pitched forscrew threaded en.- gagement with a screw, bolt or the like. Thesebridge portions are elongated and have straight side edges except forthe opposed edge portions which engage the screw or bolt, that is, areof uniform width except for said opposed edge portions which weaken thebridge portions at the mid-section thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stamped sheetmetal nut of the character next above described which eliminates theobjection of weakening the mid-section of the bridge portions andprovides adequate strength throughout the bridge portions in a novel,simple and particularly efiicacious manner.

Another object is to provide a nut of the character described in whichthe mid-section of the bridge portions have a substantial width andadequate strength without requiring an increase in the width of theanchored ends of the bridge portions beyond that provided as heretoforewhere the bridge portions are of rectangular formation and have straightside edges, this being accomplished by forming the bridge portions sothat their outer longitudinal edges are curved outwardly between theends of the bridge portions. With this formation it is possible to formthe bridge portions with an adequate given width at the mid-sectionthereof while their anchored end portions are of lesser width than wouldbe required if the outer longitudinal edges of said bridge portions werestraight. Moreover, this formation makes it possible to make themidsection of the bridge portions of substantially the same width as theanchored ends of the bridge portion thus affording adequate and. uniformstrength throughout such portions and assuring a reliable performance ofthe nut as a self-locking resilient fastening which will effectivelyresist loosening after application to a bolt, screw or the like, andwhich may be removed and repeatedly used since it is less likely tobecome distorted or broken at any point along the bridge portions.

With the foregoing objects in view, together 2' with SLlChQthB! objectsand advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in theparts and in the combination, construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated byway ofexample inthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1' is a perspective view of a nut embodying my invention; j

Fig. 2 is a'top plan view of the nut;

I )Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the nut as stood on a longitudinal edgethereof; I

Fig. 4 is a side elevationof the nut as a plied showing it as it wouldappear before being tightened; V

Fig. 5 is-a side elevation of the nut,-similar to Fig. 4, showing thenut as it would appear when tightened, the bridge portions being bowedinwardly and having *tensionedtand locking engagement with the screwthreaded fastening.

Referring more specificallyto the drawing wherein one embodiment of thisinvention is shown in detail, ii designates an elongated resilientsheet:metal body portion having somewhat narrowed and rounded ends I providedwith openings 8 so that the nut may be riveted as at 9 as shown in Figs.4 and 5 or otherwise secured to a member l0, preliminary to securinganother member I l thereto by means of the nut and a bolt or likefastening l2. This securing of the nut to the member Ill makes itunnecessary for the operator to hold or manipulate the nut in screwingthe bolt or screw [2 into the nut. However, it is obvious that the nutmay be turned on the bolt or screw or held by the operator if it isdesired to apply it in this manner rather than fasten it as shown inFigs. 4 and 5.

In carrying out this invention the body 6 may be die-stamped to strikeout from the plane thereof and at its mid-portion a pair of elongatedresilient bridge portions [3 and I4, lying side by side in oppositelyinclined relation to one another and in different offset planes so thatcomplementary arcuate edge portions I5 formed in the inner longitudinaledges thereof form an opening for reception of a bolt or screw. Theseedge portions due to the relative inclination and offset relation of thebridge portions are helically pitched so as to have screw threadedengagement as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 with a bolt 0 screw such as thebolt l2.

As here provided the ends of the bridge portions I3 and I4 are integralwith the body portion and all of bridge portion l3 except its ends isoutwardly offset from the body and the other bridge portion l4 whereasthe latter is for the most part offset from the body portion a lesserextent than portion l3.

In order that the mid portions of the bridge portions, where thethreading edges I 5 are formed by notching or cutting out portions ofthe bridges, have an appreciable width and adequate strength, the bridgeportions are stamped so that their outer longitudinal edges l6 areoutwardly curved from one end of the bridge portions to the other. Ashere shown the width of each bridge portion where the edges l5 arelocated is approximately that of its anchored end portions. In otherwords, for a given adequate mid-width of the bridge portions theanchored ends need be no wider than such given width and could be oflesser width, whereas if the bridge portions were formed with straightouter edges in order to give them this given width, the ends would haveto be as wide and said midportions and this would weaken the nut bodyportion, also make the bridges too wide to have the desired yieldabilityand resilient action required to make the nut effectively self-locking.

It is now apparent that the curved outer edges of the two bridgeportions will provide the desired strength in the mid-section of thebridge portions which sections are otherwise weakened objectionably bythe arcuate threading edges l5 being out into the middle thereof.Moreover, this formation gives a uniform strength throughout the bridgeportions and a certain desired rigidity without depriving them of thenecessary yielding and resilient action which, when the nut is tightenedas shown in Fig. 5, causes the bridge portions to be bowed inwardlybetween their ends and to have a tensioned locking engagement with thethreads of the screw or bolt.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention Ido not limit myself to the exact details of construction set forth, andthe invention embraces such changes, modifications and equivalents ofthe parts and their formation and arrangement as come within the purviewof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a nut, a plate-like sheet metal body portion, and a pair ofelongated laterally juxtaposed bridge portions struck out from themid-portion of said body portion so as to lie in offset relation to oneanother and the body portion and having complementary edge portions atopposed inner edges thereof constructed and arranged to define anopening and to threadedly engage a screw threaded member turned in saidopening, said bridge portions having their outer longitudinal edgescurved outwardly from end to end thereof to provide a substantial widthof said bridge portions at points adjacent said complementary edgeportions.

2. In a nut, a plate-like sheet metal body portion, and a pair ofelongated laterally juxtaposed bridge portions struck out from themid-portion of said body portion so as to lie in offset relation to oneanother and the body portion and having complementary edge portions atopposed inner edges thereof constructed and arranged to define anopening and to threadedly engage a screw threaded member turned in saidopening, said bridge portions being arcuate and of substantially thesame width between said edge portions and their outer longitudinal edgesas at the ends thereof.

3. In a nut, a plate-like sheet metal body portion, and a pair ofelongated laterally juxtaposed bridge portions struck out from themid-portion of said body portion so as to lie in offset relation to oneanother and the body portion and having complementary edge portions atopposed inner edges thereof constructed and arranged to define anopening and to threadedly engage a screw threaded member turned in saidopening, said bridge portions having greater width between their endsand said complementary edge portions than at the points where the endsthereof are joined to said body portion.

RONALD EDGAR EGGERT.

